Council Approves Police Patrols of Crestwood Village VI

Members of Township Council voted on Monday evening to allow police to patrol for traffic offenses in Crestwood Village VI. 

The ordinance, introduced at the council's Aug. 13 meeting, was spurred by a written request for patrols of the Whiting senior community's roadways, driveways and parking lots sent to the township by the Crestwood Village VI Community Association, Clerk Sabina Skibo said at the time.

"Crestwood Village VI had asked the township to enforce traffic regulations within their development because of issues like speeding and stopping at stop signs," Council President Craig Wallis said Monday. 

No members of the public had any comment before the ordinance, which goes into effect in 20 days from passage, was unanimously approved by the council. 

Chief of Police Brian Klimakowski said following the meeting that authorizing police to patrol the senior community for traffic offenses under Title 39 of state code will not be a burden to the department. 

"We're going to respond to problems and patrol like it's any other neighborhood in town," he said. "Now, when we have a particular problem, we can come in."

For example, officers will have the ability to set up speed monitoring operations and watch intersections for stop signs for violations, the chief said. The department also will work with the neighborhood's community association to ensure that they bring all of the traffic signage up to code and that intersections are properly controlled. 

When the issue of adding police patrols to private communities has come up in the past, such as in January when the council approved an agreement with Cedar Glen Lakes in Whiting, Wallis said that it is not a burden to the police department. 

Prior to the Cedar Glen Lakes agreement, Manchester council members in August 2011 approved an ordinance to allow township police to patrol neighborhood streets in the Ridgeway Mobile Homes Park.